Daily Archives: October 11, 2015
Australia: Calls for a long-term strategy to protect threatened marine species from commercial fishing
There are calls for the Federal Government to develop a long-term strategy to protect threatened marine species from commercial fishing. Every year thousands of protected species are killed as bycatch. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) publishes a quarterly report detailing how many protected species have been killed in Commonwealth waters. The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Tooni Mahto said the numbers were unacceptable. (but they never are, eh Tooni?) Meanwhile, In the Small Pelagic Fishery,,, Read the rest here 20:07
Damage Control For Flooding (Some notes on what to do when you have that sinking feeling)
If you engineer fishing vessels you are going to be expected to have the skills to lead damage control efforts, repair crews, control flooding, and even seal off compartments in order to prevent sinking. All of this needs to be done in a hurry so putting a little thought into how you intend to deal with flooding in some of the areas of your vessel and taking stock of any emergency pumps, equipment, and the condition of water tight doors and compartment bulk heads may be the difference between life or death. Read the rest here with 9 images. By John Johnson. 17:20
A Fluke: 17 Years Later, DEC Sent Him $1K for Some Fish
“What are you going to do with it?” I (Dan Rattner) asked Stuart. “We’re still deciding which part of the South of France we want to go to,” he said. “What part of the State of New York is the check from?” “It’s from the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation.” “Who signed it?” I asked. “The Governor?” “Some woman, Mary E. Balooski or Baloski, I can’t read the writing. And the whole check is handwritten, which is odd. Computers usually fill out checks from the government. This one arrived in the mail.” Read the rest here 14:39
The Court and Overcriminalization: Bond v. United States and Yates v. United States
In both Bond v. United States and Yates v. United States, the Supreme Court reversed federal criminal convictions. Neither defendant’s conduct was constitutionally protected; there were no procedural irregularities in either trial, no vagueness or overbreadth issues, and no police misconduct (debatable) . Instead, each case involved prosecuting a small-time individual with a big-time statute: In Bond, the federal government used the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998 against a “jilted wife.” In Yates, it unleashed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on a mischievous fisherman. Both proceedings raised concerns about overcriminalization that implicitly drove the Court’s analysis in a new direction. Read the rest here 13:00
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, OCT 11, 2015
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here To read all the updates, click here 11:30
What’s the Catch? Commercial Fishing and the Risks Needed to Get Your Fancy Supper.
By Guest writer Matt Rhoney – Commercial fishing. It’s gone from an obscure asterisk of a profession to a household name recently. With the advent of reality television and America’s recent fascination with dangerous careers, commercial fishing has become one of the world’s most famously risky gigs. Like oil field workers, scuba divers, and extreme wildlife chasers, commercial fishermen are icons of bold living. People tune in to their sets nightly to watch the exploits of hirsute men who live for the thrill of the chase. Read the rest here 10:49
Fishermen in the Northeast win a small victory
According to Climate Wire, an online publication of Environment and Energy Publishing LLC, New Bedford native son Bob Vanasse uncovered, through the use of Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of Saving Seafood in Washington, D.C., a cluster of emails being circulated among several environmental groups hoping the president would be convinced to announce the New England monuments in Chile. The emails urged recipients to keep the plan a secret. “I hope no one is talking about Chile to the outside world,” an email from Conservation Law Foundation Interim President Peter Shelley said. Read the rest here 09:49
Prince William Sound salmon catch exceeds 104 M fish
State fisheries officials estimated that commercial fishermen in
have landed 104,085,000 salmon through Oct. 2, and continued to urge gillnet fishermen to assure a market before harvesting more fish. The words of caution were contained in an Alaska Department of Fish and Game fishery update Oct. 2 for Prince William Sound. To date the statewide preliminary Alaska commercial salmon harvest blue sheet shows that the harvest from Prince William Sound includes 98,215,000 humpies, 3,133,000 sockeyes, 2,515,000 chums, 199,000 cohos and 24,000 Chinook salmon. Read the rest here 09:21
Despite problems at sea, N.H. Community Seafood program is going strong
New Hampshire’s commercial fishing industry is a shell of its former self, but there are still enough boats sailing daily, and enough fish in the Gulf of Maine, that the state’s unusual seafood CSA is going strong. “We have been consistently increasing membership since 2013,” said Andrea Tomlinson, general manager of New Hampshire Community Seafood. Almost 600 people signed up for the second of the four six-week sessions – at a cost between $40 and $160, depending on the amount of fish they bought – and Tomlinson said average participation is up,,, Read the rest here 09:11
Stone crab season to start
Commercial fishermen have begun to splash their stone crab traps in preparation of the opening of the season on Thursday. Fishermen can drop their pots 10 days before season starts. Season runs from Oct. 15 to May 15. “We have scattered them out over the Gulf (of Mexico),” said Middle Keys commercial fisherman Gary Nichols, who put out 9,500 traps in three days. “I’m pretty excited about it. The crab bycatch in the lobster traps looks good.” Read the rest here 08:29
